How to stain new oak treads?

Hi

A contractor will install new oak treads ("retrotreads") on my stairs, with withe risers
I will do the finish (staining the treads and painting in withe the risers and stringers)
What is the best method to stain the oak treads: should i use a brush, or a piece of cloth?
I will apply 1 or 2 layer of stain (depend on the color) and will apply polyurethane on top of it (4 or 5 layers I guess)

I'm sure you're aware that if they are installed unfinished, then you will not have use of your stairs for a few days while you finish them yourself. Any chance you can prefinish them before they are installed? If not, then perhaps you can do every other stair so you can still use them while the stain and poly dry.

I'm sure you're aware that if they are installed unfinished, then you will not have use of your stairs for a few days while you finish them yourself. Any chance you can prefinish them before they are installed? If not, then perhaps you can do every other stair so you can still use them while the stain and poly dry.

Yes, that's the plan: every other stair
Will be relatively easy to explain the the wife and daughter, but i'm not sure about the dog (unless the dog understands just fine, but not the wife..)

joe. are you using gelstain as in its stain and poly in one? we used it on one job last year with a refinished hardwood floor and it was a total nightmare.. the homeowner wanted the floor darker after the first coat was on and we couldnt really do anything about it.. the hardwood guy tried mixing more stain in with it and it looked horrible.. reason being the wood wont absorb the stain after its already been coated, the varathane seals the pores of the wood

Keep in mind that a gel stain or even your typical minwax stain will not darken with additional coats. The wood will only absorb so much color and thats it. Unless you brush it on and don't wipe it off, it won't darken more than the first coat. Dye stains will darken with subsequent coats. One stain is dry apply 3 coats of poly, i like oil based poly, and sand with 220g in between coats.